I'm going to weigh in for wing chun here. I did it for about 6 years and I had a few fights in that time.
I'm not going to go the hard sell, the system obviously had limitations but it gave me the ability to punch harder over a shorter distance, to punch faster, to string punches together (NOT CHAIN PUNCHING), to be more mobile on my feet and more stable (as in not being thrown or throwing myself off balance).
I never used a single tahn sao, bong sao, or anything other than a punch, elbow or knee actually. Nobody watching would ever have been able to say "thats wing chun". It didnt look like anything other than fast direct footwork and aggressive hands.
I can't stand it when I see wing chun guys standing in their deep pidgeon toed stance during an actual fight or sparring, or doing that rediculous shuffle step toward a boxer. Its those guys that make it look bad. But I credit wing chun drills for giving me the skills I had.

honestly i didnt feel confident defending myself with chun until AFTER i finished the dummy. i dont mean while training the dummy. but after it was actually burned into my muscle memory lol. chun is very muscle memory dependent. and that kinda thing takes alot of time and practice. but once you have it it sticks. (no pun intended)

honestly i didnt feel confident defending myself with chun until AFTER i finished the dummy. i dont mean while training the dummy. but after it was actually burned into my muscle memory lol. chun is very muscle memory dependent. and that kinda thing takes alot of time and practice. but once you have it it sticks. (no pun intended)

As Bobby said a while back - the closer you stick to wing chun in actual combat, the easier you are to hit.

That being said, I'm glad that you are enjoying your experiences, but before you decide to invest so much time in one art, perhaps you could check out some other stuff too - if you like striking, I strongly suggest you go take a look at Boxing or Muay Thai.

As Bobby said a while back - the closer you stick to wing chun in actual combat, the easier you are to hit.

That being said, I'm glad that you are enjoying your experiences, but before you decide to invest so much time in one art, perhaps you could check out some other stuff too - if you like striking, I strongly suggest you go take a look at Boxing or Muay Thai.

Check out the BJJ school. Especially if the only guy you believe can effectively teach wing chun has left your area. If self defense is your goal, BJJ is worth checking out. Although, a lot of BJJ focuses on groundwork you'll most likely be learning some standup technique as well. Like what position to go to if you do get grabbed to maintain control, in addition to takedowns, some schools like GJJ spend time on punch defenses as well.

Don't let people scare you away with the multiple opponents argument, or the glass littered, aids needle infested ground detractors. Regardless of your art nothing is going to magically enable you to beat up a football team. The same goes for hazards on the ground. Guess what, if you do chun and fall or get taken to the ground the potential hazards will still be there. It's better to know how to reverse your position so you are on top of someone than to be on bottom defenseless.

Lol, I've trained with a guy from that school in AU and his wing chun is great. I've heard great things about David Peterson, it's a shame he's leaving the area.

The story of the guy who defended himself at the train station was... self defense! The guy got attacked and defended himself successfully.

I'd have to agree that wing chun has good and bad points just like any art on it's own. I agree that its strong points are striking, power, and foot work for applying power.
But if I were you, I'd invest in ground work. The good thing if you get to your second form or thu the dummy, you'll have some decent sensitivity developed which will compliment applying locks and maneuvering around someones body. Maybe then look into some boxing for rhythm, timing, and great wind and speed. It all depends on what your looking for. This is pretty much how MMA evolved, learning different disciplines and being well rounded.

The story of the guy who defended himself at the train station was... self defense! The guy got attacked and defended himself successfully.

Read above. A story is not evidence.

I'd have to agree that wing chun has good and bad points just like any art on it's own. I agree that its strong points are striking, power, and foot work for applying power.
But if I were you, I'd invest in ground work. The good thing if you get to your second form or thu the dummy, you'll have some decent sensitivity developed which will compliment applying locks and maneuvering around someones body. Maybe then look into some boxing for rhythm, timing, and great wind and speed. It all depends on what your looking for. This is pretty much how MMA evolved, learning different disciplines and being well rounded.

Ok, maybe I'm missing something... From lol4lols account of his cousin defending himself, his cousin resolved the conflict, isn't that a successful self defense? I'm not saying it qualifies wing chun as an awesome art that everyone should do, just that he was successful in his defense utilizing what he knew.